Locating table

ABSTRACT

A punch press is provided with a locating table having a back gage with a plurality of drop stops mounted thereon. The back gage is adjustably mounted on the table by an endless cable arrangement which is clamped to opposite ends of the back gage. A handle is secured to the cable at the front of the table and carries a detent which selectively engages a plurality of adjustable stops. The back gage is repositioned by raising the detent and moving the handle and detent into engagement with another stop.

United States Patent Hochstatter [54] LOCATING TABLE I [72] Inventor:Peter C. Hochstatter, Rockford, Ill. [73] Assignee: Roper Whitney, Inc.,Rockford, Ill. 22 Filed: on. 12, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 79,749

[52] U.S. Cl .;.83/468, 2l4/l.6, 269/59 [51] Int. Cl [58] Field ofSearch ..83/467, 468, 207, 276, 391,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS.

414,770 11/1889 Hanika ..269/59X 2,176,512 10/1939 Schwarcz......214/1.6X

2,628,680 2/1953 Seybold ..83/437X [15] 3,656,390 451 Apr. 18,1972

2,673,611 3/1954 Seybold ..83/437 3,187,613 6/1965 Behling ..83/437 X3,225,636 12/1965 Schott ..2l4/l.6 X

Primary Examiner-Donald G. Kelly Attorney-McCanna, Morsbach, Pillote &Muir 57] ABSTRACT A punch press'is provided with a locating table havinga back gage with a plurality of drop stops mounted thereon. The backgage is adjustably mounted on the table by an endless cable arrangementwhich is clamped to opposite ends of the back gage. A handle is securedto the cable at the front of the table and carries a detent whichselectively engages a plurality of adjustable stops. The back gage isrepositioned by raising the detent and moving the handle and detent intoengagement with another stop.

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Em? AVAILABLE C'QPY PATENTEmPn 18 I972 656, 3 9 0 sum 2 [IF 3 WZM Pa W M 7 71PM 771 d l Evil-LIABLE COPYPATENTEDAPR 18 m2 SHEETS CF 3 BACKGROUND The invention pertains tomachines having a locating table including a movable gage which operatesas a workstop abutment.

Locating tables having a movable back gage with drop stops thereon arewell known. Accurately positioning and repositioning the back gage hasbeen a problem in the art. U.S. Pat.

, No. 1,099,174 issued June 9,. 1914 to Gray, Jr. discloses a fineadjustment. Another mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No.

2,673,61 l issued Mar. 30, 1954 to Seybold in which the back gage isdriven by a hydraulic system- A follower system is provided to indicatethe position of the back gage. These latter two patents have rathercomplex driving arrangements. However, positioning the back gage topreselected positions is not easily accomplished.

SUMMARY The present invention relates to an improved locating table foruse on a machine and more particularly to a locating table having amovable gage and means for repositioning the gage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a'locating tablewith a movable gage which is easily and accurately repositioned.

Another object is to provide a new locating table in which preselectedpositions of a gage may be arranged so that repeat operations can beperformed.

Still another object is to provide a locating table with a gage which ismovable from the front of the table.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a locatingtable with a movable gage the position of which is determined by aseries of adjustable stops.

These, and other objects and advantages of the present invention, willbecome apparent as the same becomes better understood from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings,

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ing table mounted thereon; 7

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 on anenlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the locating table;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the locating table;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the locating table as seen from the left ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along line6-6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 7-7ofFIG. 5.

punch press having alocat- DESCRIPTION Reference is.now-made moreparticularly to the drawings which illustrate the best presently knownmode of carrying out the invention and wherein similar referencecharacters indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a punch press, generally designated 10, mountedon a frame 11 which carries a locating table, generally designated 12.The punch press includes a punch 14 which is reciprocally operated by amotor 15 through suitable gearing enclosed in housing 16. The operationis conveniently under the control of a foot switch 17 which is wired tothe motor by wires 18 and 19. While the locating table is hereindescribed as being utilized with a punch press, it is contemplated thatit may be also utilized with other similar machines for performing anoperation on a workpiece.

The locating table 12 has a generally planar upper surface 21 acrosswhich a back gage 22 can move. The back gage carries a locating bar 23upon which are mounted drop stops l-5. The locating bar 23 also carriesa scale 23a (see FIG. 2 or 3) to enable proper location or relocation ofthe drop stops. The drop stops may be of any usual construction wellknown in the art and further description is deemed unnecessary.Preferably, the drop stops carry indicia such as the numerals indicated(see FIG. 2) for a purpose which will hereafter become apparent.

The back gage 22 is mounted for movement crosswise of the supportingsurface 21 of the locating table 12. The mounting assembly is best shownin FIG. 7. A bearing block 24 is mounted at one side of the locatingtable. Roller bearings 29 move along the block 24 and are connected tothe back gage 22 to support the same. Preferably, the back gage 22 isspaced slightly above the surface 21 as shown in FIG. 7. A follower 30engages the lateral side edge of the locating table as the back gagemoves crosswise of the table. The follower 30 is adjustable to takeoutside play and, in the preferred embodiment, is adjustably mounted onan eccentric axis. The arrangement is repeated at the opposite side ofthe locating table and allows theback gage to be quickly and easilymoved across the surface 21.

The back gage 22 is secured to a cable 38 by means of a clamp 36. Thecable 38 is entrained over a plurality of pulleys in an endless'manner.The pulleys include single pulleys 41, 41' mounted for rotation aboutgenerally horizontal axes at the rear comers of the locating table (seeFIG. 3). Pairs of pul- I'eys 42, 43 and 42', 43' are each mounted forrotation about a generally upright axis at the front comers of thetable. A pair of reversing pulleys 44 and 45 are mounted at the rightfront side of the locating table. The cable 38 is passed over thereversing pulleys so that the upper run of the cable at the right sideof the table moves in the same direction as the upper run at the leftside of the table. The back gage is clamped to the upper run at eitherside of the table, in the manner described above, and this allows theback gage to move to various parallel positions across the locatingtable. Referring to FIG. 3, it will be noted that reversing pulley 45 iscanted with reference to reversing pulley 44. This allows the runs ofthe cable to pass each other without interference as they cross overbetween the two pulleys as shown in FIG. 4. This preferred arrangementaids considerably in the ease of operation of the apparatus.

Mounted at the left front side of the locating table are a circular rail52 and an L-shaped rail 54 (see FIG. 6). A plurality v of stops A-E,hereinafter referred to as gage stops, are adjustably mounted on therail 54. Each gage stop includes a wedging clamp57 which can betightened by a screw 58 to adjustably mount the gage stop in position. Atemplet pin 59 is arranged at the front of the gage stop for a purposewhich will hereafter become apparent. Each gage stop has a stop face atthe upper right-hand portion thereof and a recess at the upper left-handportion for a purpose which will hereafter become apparent.

An elongate body 62, including a bushing 64, is slidably mounted on rail52. A detent 66 depends from the body 62 for engaging the stop faces ofthe gage stops. The recess in the gage stops accommodates the detentwhen it is engaging a closely adjacent gage stop, for example gage stopsC and D in FIG. 2. A handle 68 on the body 62 permits the detent to beraised out of engagement with the stop face and the body to be manuallymoved along the rail until the detent engages a subsequent stop face.The rail 52 has a groove 52a which cooperates with a pin 72 carried bythe body 62 to prevent excessive drop of the detent 66. Pin 72 retractsslightly when the handle 68 is lifted. The weight of the handle 68causes the body 62 and pin 72 to assume the positionshown in FIG. 6 andthereby properly position the detent 66 for engaging a successive stopface. The body 62 is attached to the two ends of the cable 38 by meansof clamps 74, 74', and an adjustment 76 (see FIG. 4) is provided tomaintain proper tension in the cable 38. With this arrangement, movementof the body 62 and detent 66 by movement of the handle 68 causes thecable to move and thus the back gage 22 to move. Positioning of the gagestops A-E thereby establishes stop positions for the back gage 22.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the abovedescribed apparatusis utilized to economically locate a workpiece (not shown) in amultiplicity of positions for punching holes in the workpiece which maybe a sheet metal part. When utilized with the punch press illustrated inFIG. 1, the arrangement can handle sheets of up to three-sixteenths ofan inch in thickness, 20 inches in width, and 30 inches in length. Thegage stops A-E locate the back gage 22 for front to back spacing and thedrop stops 1-5 locate the workpiece for left to right spacing. The cableand pulley arrangement accurately locates the back gage within suitabletolerances for this type of work.

In utilizing the apparatus, the front edge of the back gage 22 can bemoved to the appropriate locations on the Y-axis where holes are to bepunched. This would be the dimension from the rear or gage edge of theworkpiece to the first row of holes to be punched. The gage bar can beclamped in this position with a thumb screw (not shown) at the left endof the gage bar. Gage stop A is then moved to engagement with the detent66 and clamped in position by the screw 58. The gage bar is thenunclamped and the above procedure is repeated for all the rows of holeson the Y-axis.

For right to left gaging on the X-axis, the scale 23a on the gage bar isutilized. The drop stops lare clamped in position corresponding to theX-axis location of the hole. For very accurate positioning of theworkpiece, measuring instruments such as inside micrometers can be usedfor making the first run parts. In this manner, the co-ordinates of thevarious holes have been located so that the operation can be repeatedquickly and easily on succeeding workpieces.

If desired, a templet (not shown) can be made to quickly and accuratelylocate the gage stops and drop stops when a particular part is to be runmore than once. Openings in the templet can be used to engage the pins59 on the gage stops or pins 60 on the drop stops, for example.

It has been found that the above-described apparatus is capable ofrepeating the position of the back gage within 0.002 inch accuracy. Thedrop stops and gage stops can be located within 0.003 inch of trueposition. Thus, parts can be produced with hole locations having anaccuracy of 0.005 inch.

In use, the detent 66 is brought into position against the stop face ofengaged stop A which has been positioned as described above. Theworkpiece is nested against the gage bar with the left-hand edge of theworkpiece nested against the drop stop furthest to the left on the gagebar. The appropriate hole is punched. The workpiece is then moved to theright to nest against the next drop stop and the next hole punched. Thisoperation is repeated until all holes in this row requiring the samepunch and die have been punched. Then the gage bar is repositioned tothe remaining Y-axis gage stops, as required, for the same punch and diewith the workpiece being nested against the appropriate drop stops.There is no repeated set up necessary of the gage bar. This eliminates agreat amount of scrap parts caused whenever a back gage is improperlylocated. This is because the stops have been preset for the part beingrun.

After all holes of a given size have been punched, the punch and die,and die adaptor and stripper plate, if necessary, are changed asrequired.

It is now deemed obvious that the present invention provides a new anduseful locating table in which the back gage is quickly and accuratelymoved to preselected positions by means of the unique pulley and cablearrangement in cooperation with the detent and gage stops.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has herein beenillustrated and described, this has been done by way of illustration andnot limitation, and the invention should not be limited except asrequired by the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination with a metal working machine for performing a seriesof operations on a workpiece, a supporting surface on the machine forreceiving the workpiece, a locating bar on the supporting surface forengagement by the workpiece to position the same, a plurality of pulleysincluding at least one pulley adjacent each comer of the supportingsurface, a cable entrained over the pulleys in an endless manner andhaving a run of the cable at the front of the supporting surface,clamping means at either end of the locating bar for securing thelocating bar to the cable for movement therewith so that the locatingbar moves along the supporting surface to a plurality of positionsparallel to each other, a plurality of stops mounted in fixed positionat the front of the supporting surface, and means fixed to the cable atthe front run thereof for selectively engaging the stops and therebypositioning the locating bar at preselected parallel positions on thesupporting surface.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the plurality of pulleys includesa pulley mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis at eachrear corner of the table, and a pair of pulleys mounted for rotationabout a generally vertical axis at each front comer of the table.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the clamping means secures thelocating bar to the upper run of the cable at each side of thetable,.and the plurality of pulleys includes two pulleys at the front ofthe table, the cable being crossed at these front pulleys to reverse thepositions of the upper and lower runs of the cable so that the upperruns at the sides move in the same direction.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein one of the front pulleys ismounted for rotation on an axis canted from the other front pulley sothat said cable crossing is accomplished without interference.

5. The combination of claim 4 including rail means at the front of thetable for supporting the stops and the means for engaging the stops.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the means for engaging the stopsincludes a body slidable along the rail means, a detent on the body, anda handle on the body for manually sliding the body along the rail means.

7. In a locating table for use with a machine for performing a series ofoperations on a workpiece, the combination of: a locating bar on thetable and movable crosswise thereof, a plurality of stops at the frontof the table, a detent selectively engageable with the stops, and meansincluding a cable secured to the detent and to both ends of the locatingbar for transferring movement of the detent to the locating bar, wherebythe locating bar is movable to several preselected positions asestablished by the stops by bringing the detent into successiveengagement with the stops.

8. A locating table as set forth in claim 7 including means forreleasably mounting the stops at the front of the table so that theirpositions may be selectively changed.

9. A locating table as set forth in claim 8 including two rails at thefront of the table parallel to each other, one rail for supporting thestops, the other rail for slidably supporting the detent, and a handleon the detent for manually sliding the same along the rail until itengages one of the stops.

10. A locating table as set forth in claim 9 wherein said other rail hasmeans for positioning the detent for engaging the stops, the detentbeing movable from said position for movement along said other rail.

11. In a locating table for use with a punch press or the like thecombination of: a back gage movable crosswise of the locating table forestablishing the crosswise position of a workpiece, a plurality of dropstops spaced longitudinally on the back gage for establishing thelongitudinal position of the workpiece, pulley means at each comer ofthe locating table and a cable entrained over the pulley means in anendless manner, means at the longitudinal ends of the back gage forsecuring the back gage to the cable for movement of the back gage withthe cable in a direction crosswise of the locating table to positionsparallel to each other, cooperating means on the cable and on thelocating table for establishing the parallel positions and including aplurality of stops and a detent selectively engageable with the stops,and means for moving the cable until the detent engages a stop tothereby move the back gage to a preselected position.

12. A locating table as set forth in claim 11 including bearings at eachend of the back gage, the bearings comprising at least two bearings ateach end for supporting the back gage spaced slightly above the table,and at least one bearing engaged with the edge of the table.

13. A locating table as set forth in claim 11 wherein the stops and thedrop stops have means for releasably mounting them so that the crosswiseand longitudinal positions of the workpiece may be selectively changed.

- 14. A locating table as set forth in claim 11 including rail means atthe front of the table for supporting the stops and the detent.

15. A locating table as set forth in claim 14 wherein the means formoving the cable includes a body slidably mounted on the rail means andcarrying the detent, a handle on the body for manually sliding the bodyalong the rail means, and means connecting the cable to the body.

1. In combination with a metal working machine for performing a seriesof operations on a workpiece, a supporting surface on the machine forreceiving the workpiece, a locating bar on the supporting surface forengagement by the workpiece to position the same, a plurality of pulleysincluding at least one pulley adjacent each corner of the supportingsurface, a cable entrained over the pulleys in an endless manner andhaving a run of the cable at the front of the supporting surface,clamping means at either end of the locating bar for securing thelocating bar to the cable for movement therewith so that the locatingbar moves along the supporting surface to a plurality of positionsparallel to each other, a plurality of stops mounted in fixed positionat the front of the supporting surface, and means fixed to the cable atthe front run thereof for selectively engaging the stops and therebypositioning the locating bar at preselected parallel positions on thesupporting surface.
 2. The combination of claim 1 in which the pluralityof pulleys includes a pulley mounted for rotation about a generallyhorizontal axis at each rear corner of the table, and a pair of pulleysmounted for rotation about a generally vertical axis at each frontcorner of the table.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the clampingmeans secures the locating bar to the upper run of the cable at eachside of the table, and the plurality of pulleys includes two pulleys atthe front of the table, the cable being crossed at these front pulleysto reverse the positions of the upper and lower runs of the cable sothat the upper runs at the sides move in the same direction.
 4. Thecombination of claim 3 wherein one of the front pulleys is mounted forrotation on an axis canted from the other front pulley so that saidcable crossing is accomplished without interference.
 5. The combinationof claim 4 including rail means at the front of the table for supportingthe stops and the means for engaging the stops.
 6. The combination ofclaim 5 wherein the means for engaging the stops includes a bodyslidable along the rail means, a detent on the body, and a handle on thebody for manually sliding the body along the rail means.
 7. In alocating table for use with a machine for performing a series ofoperations on a workpiece, the combination of: a locating bar on thetable and movable crosswise thereof, a plurality of stops at the froNtof the table, a detent selectively engageable with the stops, and meansincluding a cable secured to the detent and to both ends of the locatingbar for transferring movement of the detent to the locating bar, wherebythe locating bar is movable to several preselected positions asestablished by the stops by bringing the detent into successiveengagement with the stops.
 8. A locating table as set forth in claim 7including means for releasably mounting the stops at the front of thetable so that their positions may be selectively changed.
 9. A locatingtable as set forth in claim 8 including two rails at the front of thetable parallel to each other, one rail for supporting the stops, theother rail for slidably supporting the detent, and a handle on thedetent for manually sliding the same along the rail until it engages oneof the stops.
 10. A locating table as set forth in claim 9 wherein saidother rail has means for positioning the detent for engaging the stops,the detent being movable from said position for movement along saidother rail.
 11. In a locating table for use with a punch press or thelike the combination of: a back gage movable crosswise of the locatingtable for establishing the crosswise position of a workpiece, aplurality of drop stops spaced longitudinally on the back gage forestablishing the longitudinal position of the workpiece, pulley means ateach corner of the locating table and a cable entrained over the pulleymeans in an endless manner, means at the longitudinal ends of the backgage for securing the back gage to the cable for movement of the backgage with the cable in a direction crosswise of the locating table topositions parallel to each other, cooperating means on the cable and onthe locating table for establishing the parallel positions and includinga plurality of stops and a detent selectively engageable with the stops,and means for moving the cable until the detent engages a stop tothereby move the back gage to a preselected position.
 12. A locatingtable as set forth in claim 11 including bearings at each end of theback gage, the bearings comprising at least two bearings at each end forsupporting the back gage spaced slightly above the table, and at leastone bearing engaged with the edge of the table.
 13. A locating table asset forth in claim 11 wherein the stops and the drop stops have meansfor releasably mounting them so that the crosswise and longitudinalpositions of the workpiece may be selectively changed.
 14. A locatingtable as set forth in claim 11 including rail means at the front of thetable for supporting the stops and the detent.
 15. A locating table asset forth in claim 14 wherein the means for moving the cable includes abody slidably mounted on the rail means and carrying the detent, ahandle on the body for manually sliding the body along the rail means,and means connecting the cable to the body.